


THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR

by Powermimicry



Series: THE FULL MOONS [4]
Category: Bewitched (TV 1964), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Ali Baba - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artists, F/F, Funny, Hiccups, Lesbian Character, Operas, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 02:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16358858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Powermimicry/pseuds/Powermimicry
Summary: Cora’s cousin, Clara comes to stay.Careful what you wish for.





	1. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR CHAPTER ONE

THE FULL MOONS.PART4. Chapter1.

“ _I know I'm a little vague at times, but on the other hand, when I forget something, I'm definite.” Aunt Clara, Bewitched._

 

It was an hour yet until the diner would open.

All four were quietly having breakfast, the girls leaning into each other, whispering, a gentle tickle now and then followed by giggles, Cora with her nose in a fanfic and Granny writing out new recipes, most with the option of ‘cheese’.

The larder out back suddenly sneezed.

All four looked up, no one moved.

The larder then banged, rattled and went into one.

Granny grabbed her crossbow as she went through followed by Cora and the two girls.

With one hand on the larder knob and the other gripping the crossbow she looked at Cora, nodded and took a breath in.

She pulled the door open.

An elderly woman staggered out wearing some of the larder contents.

“Oh my, thank you dear I got rather lost in there, where do you keep your main door?”

Granny swore.

Cora grinned. 

“Hello cousin Clara. Everyone this is my long lost cousin Clara, who incidentally never, and I mean never, arrives by the front door. ”

Cora hugged her and removed the larder bits while straightening Clara’s hat which was almost over her eyes.

Clara was very old, fumbling but such a sweet lady. She was introduced to everyone with a hug. Even Granny was soft, smiling at Clara and one eye on the disaster that was her larder.

Clara took people by surprise by arriving down chimneys, cupboards under stairs, through walls or windows and once it was rumored by parachute through a roof window!

They took her hat, coat and bag and sat her down with a coffee.

“So tell me cousin, what brings you here? Why I haven’t seen you since...”

Cora didn’t know quite how to phrase the next bit. The last she saw of Clara was at a ball.

It was striking midnight, the place swarmed with white mice, 6 foot tall and not shy about hitting on the women. The footmen hid down stairs ignoring the butler who was shouting at them to get rid of the mice. The Earls and the Viscounts were outraged, so pulled opened the oak grand doors to throw the mice out only to be cascaded by an army of rotund pumpkins marching in, the men drew their swords and it all got very messy. Everyone was sliding into each other and falling over.

It was quite a spectacular evening. Cora had watched all this, as a very young servant girl, from the top landing with her face pressed between two balusters.

Clara, young and beautiful but becoming increasingly nervous with the situation, started singing an opera.

Cora learnt later that it was Cousin Clara’s personal quirk. The more nervous she became the louder the opera. She also learnt Clara was behind the spell of large mice and pumpkins. That story was tidied up nicely. 

“...since you were in full voice with a suicide scene from L'Olimpiade, if I remember correctly”.

Clara smiled nervously and breathed a little faster.

Cora immediately changed conversation.

“It’s so lovely to see you, what can we do for you cousin?” 

“Well, hello, yes, lovely. Erm I wonder dear, if I can stay, just a short time”

The nervous laugh.

“I Erm need to, how I can I put this, oh my, Erm to stay out the limelight for a while”.

Cora’s eyebrow nearly disappeared into her hairline.

The girls were excited. Ruby jumped up causing Clara to jump and in turn the coffee pot exploded.

“Oh my” exclaimed Clara.

“Oh the devils bollocks” swore Granny.

Mulan looked at Cora confused. Cora shook her head.

“Later”.

Granny started to clear up while Ruby went to prepare a room for Clara.

Cora leaned across the table.

“Why cousin? Tell me why?”

She sounded harsh and Mulan felt sorry for the old woman.

In her usual fumbling way Clara answered. 

“I had a place in South of France; 16th century I forget the year. Lovely, with a big house and gardens to die for...”

“No cousin Clara just the ‘why’ please”

“Erm yes dear. Erm why? Let me think. My memory is not so good anymore”.

Mulan noticed that Cora was silently counting to ten.

“Oh yes, yes of course.A warlock called erm Louis...Louis de Cardiac...or something similar to that. Erm, oh yes, he was engaged to be married to a pretty princess called erm Isobel...No Anne...erm Katherine...”

Clara’s train of thought went off somewhere.

 

“...and?”

“I forgot her name dear. Anyhow erm, yes, he had such an unsightly wart on his nose. It was shaped like a mushroom, oh my, I found myself staring. Erm well this Cardiac knew I was a witch and rode over one day to consult with me. I made a spell so as the wart would disappear but refused payment from him. This made him a little cross, erm the man does not like erm to be in anyone’s debt”.

Another nervous laugh.

“What went wrong cousin Clara?”

“Well I am not sure dear, I think it was along the line of having skin like a baby, I dropped the spell book but thought such a simple spell...”

“Go on Cousin”

“And oh my, I don’t know exactly what went wrong but he had the head of a baby!”

Clara laughed nervously again.

“The wart was gone though”

Mulan, quiet up to now, just splattered coffee everywhere, and nearly choked with laughter.

Cora looked at her

“Serves you right”

Clara was now on a roll.

“And oh my goodness, I have to say it was quite disconcerting a man’s deep voice booming out of a baby’s mouth. Needless to say his fiancée also found it unsettling and put off the wedding day. I had last heard he wanted Erm stern words with me and so I decided to leave for a while and give him time to become, erm reasonable”.

Mulan found it hard to contain herself.

“But can he trace you here Clara? Couldn't the spell be reversed?”

“Erm, hopefully not. I cannot remember how to dear”.

Cora’s other eyebrow joined its twin in the hairline.

“The thing is Mulan; Cousin Clara’s spells do wear off in a reasonable short time. Yet I should imagine by the sound of the man that he might seek revenge. Clara, you are welcomed to stay”.

Clara smiled. Than sneezed. Cora immediately tensed and there was Mulan, 5 feet in the air, floating, looking down on the two women.

“What the f...!”

Cora waved a spell and put Mulan back into her seat.

“And that’s the other thing I had forgotten until now. When my cousin sneezes she puts out a wild spell and anything can happen. Stock up on tissues ladies”.

Mulan was in awe. What a fantastic old witch. I can’t wait to tell Red about this. This will be fun.

Famous last words!

 

 

 

 

 


	2. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR, CHAPTER TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clara tells Mulan and Ruby a bedtime story, and brings it to life.

THE FULL MOONS PART 4. Chapter 2.

“ _If you want to see and feel magic first hand, read a book to your kid before bedtime.”_ _Richard Due_

 

Later that evening after Clara had gone to bed, Cora thought she should explain a few things about her cousin.

“I am very fond of the old woman; her heart is in the right place but...”

“We have noticed Cora that cousin Clara’s spells are, Erm a bit scatty”

Mulan still found it amusing and Red was cross that she missed the earlier mishap.

“All her life she has had a problem with spells, but with age it has got worse. The old coven, many decades ago banned her from practicing magic. She broke away and traveled far into the past. My cousin forgets and cannot resist helping or making people happy. There is not a bad bone in her body, yet her magic seems to compensate for this, sadly”.

Granny pulled a face.

“Yeah tell my larder and coffee pot about it”.

“Firstly do NOT idly wish for anything within her hearing. Secondly her sneezes cause wild spells and she sings opera when she gets nervous. Oh and Ruby don’t make her jump, that also sets off a wild spell”.

Ruby nodded. A part of her was very curious though.

They tidied up and headed for bed.

Going upstairs Cora remembered something else

“Oh and watch out for the hiccups”

The girls wondered what they should look out for!

——————————————————————————————

3 am the girls felt someone sit on the end of the bed.

“Erm why, Hello girls, Erm I don’t need much sleep nowadays. No. Not at my age”.

A low sigh.

Ruby spoke through a yawn

“Did you want a hot drink or a bite to eat Clara?”

“No. No no. Thank you dear. Erm. Would you both like to hear a story? Oh I do miss telling bedtime stories”

The sleepy girls nodded without thinking.

“I will Erm bring it to life for you in glorious Technicolor as they say”

Mulan straight away had misgivings.

Ruby stopped being sleepy.

“Once upon a time there was a young man erm called Ali Baba”

A young man appeared in the room holding some cut wood. He dropped the wood, looked around feeling confused and a little upset.

“He has an elder brother called Erm ....”

Another young man with a long beard appears. He looks extremely cross.

“...Cassim and he is erm married”

A woman in an apron appears at first she looks startled and then starts shouting at her husband.

“Mulan do you know what are they saying?”

“Well roughly she is calling him a son of a sow for bringing her into the devils house”

Clara continues

“Ali befriended a slave-girl called Erm ...Erm Morgiana”

Another young woman, dark and brooding. This one backs away, crosses her arms and watches suspiciously everyone in the room.

“Who else? Oh my. Erm the tailor Baba Mustafa”.

The old tailor appears, sees the others and starts screaming and pulling his hair.

Then they all start arguing amongst themselves and pointing fingers while giving the girls a cautious look.

“The tailor thinks this is a cursed dream and he blames Ali and his brother”.

Ruby holds Mulan’s arm tight.

“I don’t think I am liking this very much”

Mulan’s hand goes under the bed to check for her sword.

Clara is sitting there with a big smile saying to the visitors

“There, there, there”.

Then a glint in her eye

“Oh my, oh my, but let’s not forget the 40 thieves then we can get on with the story...”

Before Mulan can shout ‘NO’, Clara waves her hand.

Ruby squashes against the headboard, hugging her knees prepared for the worse. She looks wide eyed at Mulan, there was no way her small bedroom can accommodate 40 thieves.

Half a minute passes.

“Oh well no 40 thieves then Mulan”

Mulan scratches.

“Thank lord”

Ruby scratches. Clara scratches.

The guests scratch.

Everyone is scratching furiously.

Mulan finds a flea.

“Omg she did 40 fleas instead”

Ruby didn’t know whether to laugh or scratch.

“Do my back Mulan quick. Quick QUICK”

Mulan scratches Ruby’s back with one hand and her own back with the other.

Clara gets tired of scratching after a few minutes and starts to nap peacefully.

The guests are now going crazy with the itching. Ali is frantically rubbing his back up and down against the door frame swearing. His brother and sister- in -law are scratching each other while she yells even louder at him, and occasionally slapping his face. The tailor is on the floor writhing like a dog, the slave-girl, leaning against the wardrobe, is desperately trying to keep her calm composure but twitching more and more with every passing moment.

The room feels very busy.

 

Meanwhile in the main bedroom the two women have long been awake.

“Cora are you going to just lay there with the pillow over your head?”

“Eugenia my sweet, you know as well as I do, Clara is awake and unattended”

“It sounds like the girls are holding a cage fight. We need to see what the hell is going on, and put a stop to it. Move your ass Cora”

Granny and Cora walk in to this scratching madness, as they open the door it knocks Ali flying into his brother, and his brother into his wife then all three fall on top of the tailor, still scratching.

Cora realises with one look what has happened. Hells bells she had forgotten about the bedtime stories when she was little.

She freezes the guests but the fleas seem immune.

“They will fade out soon girls. Be patient. Clara, wakey wakey! I think it’s time you went back to bed, I will bring you up a drink, and we will have a little chat dear”.

Mulan is catching and killing fleas, Ruby is still scratching rigorously

“But Cora the fleas!”

“It will pass. Remember I did warn you”.

“But we couldn’t be rude” she said to the shut door.

Eventually all guests and fleas faded away, but left some nasty bites.

Ruby was pissed.

“Well this is going to get awkward”

“How’s so?”

“We can’t be rude to Clara, so I think we better lock the door at night. I think her visit will be some fun though but no more fleas hopefully, they like our blood”.

From Clara’s bedroom echoed Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, singing in despair over rejection.

Clara had only been here a day.


	3. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR CHAPTER THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Hiccups, tight trousers and a dinner party have in common?  
> Clara.

THE FULL MOONS PART 4. Chapter 3.

“ _I may look small, but my bark AND my bite is BIG.”Kailin Gow_

 

The diner and the rest of the house had boxes of tissues everywhere. This was in hope to prevent full sneezes.

Cora decided that Clara best stay out of the diner when it was open. Just in case.

Mulan and Ruby came down for breakfast; Cora was already with a coffee and as usual her nose in a book. Granny was out getting supplies.

The girls took a step back in surprise.

“Cora?”

“Mmm”

“CORA?”

“What?”

Ruby spoke first

“Cora, are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?”

Cora looked up.

“Sorry? Have I missed something?”

Mulan,

“Cora, literally, there’s a baby elephant in the corner eating a banana”

“Ahhh Cousin Clara. She had hiccups this morning. It will pass”.

The girls now giggled and fussed over the elephant.

By the time granny got back Clara was herself again. Just. The trunk was still there.

Granny chose not to ask.

“Cora honey I must go on a diet and you need to be strict with me”

“Why Eugenia, you are lovely as you are but I like the idea of being strict with you”

Wink.

 

Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Oh please no”

“My trousers are getting awfully tight, I nearly broke the goddamn zip lifting supplies”

“Granny why not just get new ones?”

“WHAT? And throw away perfectly good trousers. Nope. A diet will fix this. I need to be a little lighter is all”

 

Clara watched the conversation quietly, and granny went to put supplies away in the back kitchen without realising the consequences of what she just said.

A high pitch scream from the back kitchen.

Cora reached granny first and in doing so tripped head over ass.

“Watch the feck where you are going Cora for crying out loud”

Said a squeaky voice.

Cora sat on the floor flabbergasted.

The girls ran in, first they put their hands over their mouths ‘Oooh’ then collapsed into fits of laughter, for there stood granny all two foot of her.

Granny now scrabbling up the counter but can’t quite reach her crossbow, because for sure, she will kill Cousin Clara.

“Oh my”

Said Clara

“Oh my”

Said Clara again.

“I thought it might Erm be nice to help you lose a little weight dear. Oh my”

Granny swore several times in a squeaky voice and it made the girls laugh even more.

She shot them a very stern look, upwards.

“I can still whoop your asses”

It took Cora a lot of self will not to laugh.

“It will wear off in a few hours Eugenia, I promise, my poor little sweet”

“Can you refrain from using ‘little’ Cora dear. Omg I can’t work in the diner like this!”

“When the girls have finished laughing”

Cora also gave them a stern look,

“Put them to work dear. Meanwhile I think you’d better go upstairs for a while to avoid any awkward questions”.

Granny climbed the stairs like a toddler swearing all the way, her trousers were still tight they had shrunk with her.Cora knew better then to help.Ruby nearly wet herself with laughter.

Mulan had to sit down, it was too much.

“Oh my”

Said Clara nervously taking a deep breath,

And burst into song. For a little old lady she had the most powerful singing voice.

Today it was Carmen. She felt as if she was hurtling towards her doom.

——————————————————————————————

The main bedroom.

“I can’t, and I won’t go to the dinner party without you Eugenia”

Granny, furious, was sitting on the edge of the bed swinging her feet to and fro as they didn’t touch the floor.

“You have to. It’s important one of us should be there. Just say I have a bug or the truth, a pain in the ass living here!”

The squeaky voice was rather cute. Cora couldn’t help but smile.

“DON’T bitch”

“Okay. Okay sorry. It will pass, but well imagine it reversed I know damn well you would laugh. I don’t know what to wear Eugenia. I hate this. I have nothing new to wear”.

“Really? Are you kidding me? You have a wardrobe full of outfit’s darling, which I will now leave you with as I am going to watch tv to distract myself from wanting to throttle your cousin”.

“Fair enough. Enjoy”.

Cora looked in on Clara who was done with opera and now reading. She then went to help the girls.

 

At the end of the day Cora went to her room, dreading the coming evening. Granny was still in the tv room, she was napping.

On the bed was a slim pink box with an elaborate red bow. She opened it to find a long beautiful black strapless dress.

It fitted her like a dream. She went in to wake Eugenia and did a little twirl.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

“That it sure is. You look lovely Cora.Sorry I can’t come tonight but try to be polite to the new people and not kill anyone, yeah”

Granny was now 4 foot tall.

Cora got her bag, kissed Eugenia and waved bye to the girls who gave her one hell of a wolf whistle as she left.

 

Two hours in and the small chit chat was driving Cora round the twist. The food and wine was nice but the company bored her to death. She started to daydream about turning them into piglets, while the constant chatting and fake laughter became background noise.

It took her a minute or two to realise the room had gone very, very quiet.

She opened her eyes to find herself the centre of attraction and some gaping mouths.

She was sitting there in nothing but her underwear.

Cora, being Cora excused herself as if nothing was wrong.

“Why thank you for the lovely evening but it’s rather late and my partner is a ‘little’ under the weather. We must do this again sometime”.

She picked up her coat and walked tall out of the house. Thank goodness the shoes were her own.

On the way home she knew damn well what had happened. She thought the dress was a present from Eugenia, but oh dear god not to have conversations with the door open in a room next to Cousin Clara.

Deep breath.

“I will not turn her into a plant. I will not turn her into a plant”.

 

Eugenia was greatly amused, and fully grown which now made it all the more funny for her.

As for the girls, their ribs were aching. They thought they had done with laughing, but this set them off again, both holding their middle section.

“Let that be a lesson to you both”

Granny then took Cora’s hand and they went upstairs.

Cora just sighed, and kept reminding herself that cousin Clara means well.

“Oh my”

Said Clara, taking in a deep breath.

The house filled with The Damnation of Faust. She was selling her soul to the devil.

 

 


	4. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR CHAPTER FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Granny decides to decorate the diner, and ends up being entertained.

THE FULL MOONS PART 4. Chapter 4.

“ _Everything you can imagine is real.”Pablo Picasso_

 

At breakfast Granny served her latest recipe. It was received with satisfactory moans of ‘delicious’ and ‘Mmm’, and a ‘click click’ from the Capybara sitting under the table.

Cora suspected that the morning hiccups were hunger pangs.

Business was quiet as a lot of people were on vacation.

So Granny decided to close for a couple of days to redecorate.

The chairs and tables were all heaped in a pile out front, the dust sheets were down and the wallpaper bought. Every one worked with few words as Clara made them coffee and sandwiches. Had to watch what you wished for.

“Granny, what wallpaper did you buy?”

“A nice Spanish grey, with a silver border”.

Ruby and Mulan exchanged glances.

“But Granny it’s already grey?”

“Yes well, but grey forest trees on grey and I think it might look larger with plain grey”

“Granny can’t we have colour?”

“No. It needs to be neutral not distracting. Bright colours can offend”.

Ruby shrugged, and the girls got to work with the wallpaper stripper.

 

The place looked like a bomb had hit it. Granny realized she had taken on too much.

“Cora darling, oh why you look delightful in that outfit so sexy”

“What do you want Eugenia?”

“Could you finish the wallpaper stripping with a little magic before you go out?”

Cora obliged. She was off to see the new line of dresses that had just arrived.

“Thank you darling I appreciate it. Have fun”

Granny knew it would be easy to ask Cora to magic it in one go, but she liked to keep her hand in as much as possible and took a certain pride in doing so. This is why Cora never offers unless asked.

 

Mulan, Ruby and Granny stood looking at the walls.

“Soooooo, Eugenia. Have you ever hung wallpaper before?”

“Erm no Mulan. I suppose I should have either asked Cora or got a couple of professionals in”.

She said without thinking. The girls cringed, they all stopped breathing. Clara was waving her hand like the Queen of England.

The smell of body odour arrived 20 seconds before Michelangelo.

Than an over perfumed figure materialised, but the body odour won out.

 

“Who are you” said the man in grubby clothes robes and a turban.

The well dress man was in awe of his surroundings, but smiling.

Clara whispered an oopsie

Granny introduced them all.

“And who, may I ask are you?”

The man looked terribly offended

“Why I am the great Michelangelo”.

“You are a piece of filth. I am the greater Raphael Sanzio”

He bowed.

 

“Ahhh. Professional painters”

“I beg your pardon woman, not only that but supreme sculptor, architect and poet of all Florence”

Ruby whispered to Mulan

“And in need of a bath”

Raphael laughed

“And he likes to blow his own trumpet. Good god man you smell like a dead goat!”

 

Granny knew a little of artists, it was a favourite pastime. She also knew that Michelangelo in his time lived in near squalor and rarely changed his clothes or bathed. This was not uncommon for the time, but Raphael was different, Michelangelo’s rival, was bought up around aristocracy, a smooth talker, a ladies man and he knew how to manipulate with his manners.

 

“Why have you forced me to this place woman? Talk!”

Raphael grinned and flapped his hat in Michelangelo’s face as he bowed.

“Good day fair ladies, may I ask why I am in such lovely company?”

They both were quite unfazed by the whole situation, granny thought. This was either very impressive or egotistical.

“You were bought here by complete accident, gentlemen”

Granny glanced at Clara

“I was saying that maybe I needed experts to decorate my diner and, and well a witch summoned you”

 

Clara, now tiptoeing out the diner was gently singing Lakmé, the flower Duet and wishing she was picking flowers peacefully by a river without a care in the world.

Michelangelo looked around the diner and gave a big huff.

“You do realise it took me 4 years to paint the fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling which is 40 metres long and 14 metres wide, and you can’t even paint this...thistiny room? Why not get your witch to work. This is beneath me women!It is this dog whore you need as he is a children’s cartoonist, him and his pretty little pastels”

And another huff which set off a whole new smell.

Raphael waved his hat under his nose like a hand held fan and was not flustered by the insults, he just laughed at Michelangelo.

“This amateur of many smells would make a pig’s ear of it. He is a poor excuse”.

 

Mulan got a table and some chairs in while Granny opened a couple bottles of Chianti.

The artists seemed very happy to drink it and relaxed at the table, temporarily.

 

“Tell me though, why summon this spoilt little daddy’s boy when you could have had only the best instead?”

Raphael sat with a contagious smile and seemed to enjoy the fact that his very presence upset Michelangelo.

“Ahhh yes the best being Leonardo” he replied

“This coming from the man who kisses Leonardo’s ass”

 

Ruby leaned back as far as she could trying not to heave from the smell. It hung in the air like a thick fog.

Mulan decided it would be easier to deal with by getting drunk and anyhow she was enjoying the show.

Granny managed to dismiss it as she was now very curious.

 

“It was, as I said an accident I assure you. I hear that you did counterfeits Michelangelo”

“No, no my dear, art forgery is an embellishment, a good copy, I was so talented I could copy the greats, does that not make them so great? It is not a crime and it launched my career, I could sell them cheaper than the originals. The Pope loves my work he blessed the chapel ceiling, which incidentally I didn’t sign it, because my work is so well known, I never sign, but I paint a self-portrait, in the background “

He laughed loudly.

Raphael added,

“You could hear him wailing from the other side of Florence when the Ambassador thanked me for the fresco; huh he forgot your name!”

Raphael continued

“I also painted you too, son of a cow, in my School of Athens where you sit ungainly and grumpy with your scrawny writing laid out in front of you”

“Huh! Your mistake dog whore, in doing so you have immortalized me. Take a closer look at The Last Judgement and of course the Crucifixion of Saint Peter in the Vatican's Pauline Chapel, I will forever stare out at you all,”

More laughter from Michelangelo. Obviously a personal joke in there somewhere.

“You are a vain pile of excrement and paint what you are”.

 

Raphael downed yet another glass of wine. Michelangelo was matching him, drink for drink.

 

“And you are the pope’s pimp, without the aristocracy’s money you would be nothing. Leonardo’s whore. Good enough only to wipe my behind. You don’t hear them laugh at your vain collection of self-portraits”.

Michelangelo laughed so hard at his own joke he fell backwards with the chair. Raphael stood up, he had had enough.

“I will apologise in advance ladies. I think perhaps it’s time for his ugly nose to be broken once more, who knows this time it might improve his face and even maybe his manners, but I fear not his personal cleanliness ”.

 

The three women quickly stood back but before he could strike, the two men faded out.

Sadly the smell hung around.

Clara came back with an air freshener.

“Oh My”.

 

By the end of the day the diner looked awful. The wallpaper didn’t match at the seams, was wrinkled in the corners and definitely crooked and to make matters worse it was starting to peel off hanging down like stalactites. The girls had more wallpaper paste on themselves than the walls.

Clara offered to help but was refused, politely.

By the time Cora got home all three were practically in tears.

She put it right, not making too much of a deal about it. Eugenia hugged her big time, and told Cora all about the visitors.

————————————————————————————————————-

After showering Ruby complained to Mulan about her split ends.

“Oh Mulan, I will have to have it cut again, at this rate I will never grow my hair out”

Clara was passing by in the corridor.

 

You have never seen so much red hair in your life.

 

 

 

 

 


	5. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR CHAPTER FIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora decides to take Cousin Clara shopping.

THE FULL MOONS PART 4. Chapter 5

“ _I've been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear”. Sally Poplin_

 

It’s amazing how quickly one can become familiar with a situation.

Breakfast with the girls teasing and giggling. Cora reading an adventure (as if she didn’t have enough) and Granny planning recipes for the day, whilst a large pink flamingo on one leg opens it beak wide and granny obliges by popping a fish in.

 

Cora had decided to take her cousin shopping. It seemed unfair to lock her up 24/7. Granny on the other hand was pessimistic about it.

“This is a cataclysm waiting to happen”.

“You think?”

“Don’t you?”

“It might distract her?”

Granny huffed

“And it might be a Pandora’s Box?”

“I just feel bad keeping her behind closed doors all day”

“I have never seen you have so much patience”

“She was kind to me Eugenia, I was a little slave girl of no impotence but she didn’t treat me so. She showed love. It’s the least I can do”.

“Well if the town is still in one piece I will see you later. Oh and ask the girls along I am positive they will enjoy it”

“Are you sure you won’t come along my love”

“I have had enough excitement this week thank you very much. Go, and may the luck of the gods go with you”.

 

A smile shared.

————————————————————————————

Cora slips her arm through Clara’s and gives her cousin a reassuring squeeze.

Ruby and Mulan walk behind.

“This sounds awful but I almost hope Clara gets up to no good. I hate shopping it’s so boring”

“Oh Mulan, now you tell me, but yeah honestly, I think it’s the only reason I decided to come along”

They giggled. Cora looks over her shoulder,

“I can hear you”.

 

As they reached the front of the department store a mother is watching her child riding in a coin operated train that rocks forwards and backwards slowly for three minutes.

The child goes red and screams in disappointment.

“It not fun mummy. It’s Soooooo slow. It for babies. Me want fast!”

Upon that last note the train detaches itself with a jump and starts chuffing merrily down the street at running speed which is convenient for mummy as she needs to keep up withone very delighted child shouting several ‘whoopees’.

Cora hoped the train would lose steam soon for the mother’s sake. She pushes Cousin Clara through the doors hurriedly.

“Oh my dear, that looked erm fun”

The girls are not disappointed.

 

“Shall we take a look at hats Clara? Yours look a little hard done by”

“I don’t know dear. I am rather attached to my old hat”

Mulan looks at Ruby

“I don’t think they have any 100 year old hats here”

Clara turns to the girls, she’s far from deaf.

“Don’t they. Oh my. Goodness. That’s not fair is it?”

 

All the straw hats with their flowers and the Havana and feathered and the berets, the buckets, the floppy Panama’s, the rain and not forgetting the cloche hats, on display and those on customers trying them on become exact copies of Clara’s old charcoal bowknot floppy brimmed hat with the large wilting pink flower.

 

“Oh my that’s better. Isn’t that wonderful girls”

Remarked Clara smiling.

Assistants and customers alike are speechless. For a minute that is. Then a chain of hysterical complaints and accusations of misleading sales.

Cora gently guides Clara towards the coats department, while snatching her cousin’s hat off and hiding it under her jacket.

“Shall we look at coats instead dear?”

Clara nodded. She liked that idea.

The girls were up for anything now.

Clara tried a few coats on and it was tiring her.

“Oh my. Oh my. I really need someone to model them for me dear”

Cora was about to ask the girls when she saw Clara eyeing the manikins.

“Oh no. No no no”

 

The next moment manikins are walking up and down the aisle like it’s a cat walk, with coats of all kind, long, short, smart, casual and bumping into people. Clara is quite amused and decides to give them a little more flair.

Now the manikins are almost dancing up and down the aisle, swinging coats side to side and waving their arms in the air, one whom knocks a woman customer flying into the swim wear. She stands up rushes back and starts whopping the manikin with her handbag, once missing it and accidentally hitting another customer who was whopping another manikin with her umbrella. The other customer’s husband swears at the woman with the swinging handbag whose husband in turn swears back and shakes a fist. Surrounding customers are drawn into the fracas and chose sides. This ensued in all-out war.

 

Cora sighed. A long long sigh.

She froze the manikins and put out a forget spell. No one would remember a thing, although the bruises will raise some awkward conversations.

Mulan was still a little surprised that Cora remained so calm. She wasn’t the most patient person she ever met. In fact she was the least patient person.

Ruby just took everything in her stride.

Clara stood hugging a coat.

“Erm, this looks nice. I think I will try it on”.

So off to the changing room, quickly.

The changing room was the usual cubicles where sound bounced over and around the not so private plastic dividers. Next to Clara’s cubicle a woman was complaining to herself about a pair of trousers.

 

“Oh Hell trousers are always too long on me. I wish my legs were longer”

Cora caught this, and looked at Ruby; Ruby looked at Cora than at Mulan, Mulan looked at Ruby than at Cora and held her breath.

Next thing they heard a loud metallic ‘bang’ followed by cursing.

The woman’s legs had grown so long that she had hit her head on the thin metal ceiling and dented it.

“Exit stage left Cora?”

Said Ruby.

Clara fortunately didn’t like the coat so they slipped away. Over her shoulder Cora said

“It will pass”.

Cora needed somewhere they could go that was safe, or near as possible.

“Ahhh I know, hey girls fancy a manicure and a pedicure?”

All three heads nodded happily. Now this Mulan thought, I can enjoy.

 

The background was filled with elevator music. The chairs were soft and comfy and all with the world felt good.

Hands were massaged, coffee was served before their nails were filed, shaped and painted. Some small chitchat and a few laughs.

Time to remove shoes.

Clara hiccupped.

Cora sat up straight and glared at her cousin.

Clara hiccupped again.

The girls got comfortable, what animal would she be this time.

Clara hiccupped a third time.

As the pedicure girl on a stool took Clara’s foot she was confronted with a sloths foot sporting 4 inch claws. She screamed and fainted.

“Oh my” said the sloth

“Oh my”.

“Get Clara’s coat and hat on and go. I will leave a spell so she forgets the last hour”

They quickly, as quick as you can with a sloth that is, got her out the store and into a side street and sat on some palettes. 

 

Cora thought the local town paper will sure to have in bold print the next day ‘THE STRANGE CASE OF AMNESIA THAT INFECTED DEPARTMENT STORE’.

The hiccups receded and Cousin Clara had left her shoes behind.

“Oh dear I liked those shoes”

“We will have to chance the shoe shop girls; I refuse to carry Clara home”

“That’s okay Cora it can’t be that dangerous”

Mulan disagreed; she felt she was on a battlefield.

Clara chooses a style she likes and sits tiredly while the young man measures her feet, she yawns and naps. Ruby and Mulan are admiring some boots when Clara suddenly starts to make little distressed noises like a dog does when dreaming.

Cora lets out yet another long defeated sigh. Omg she’s having a nightmare!

Clara wakes up with a start.

“Oh my. Oh my”

The three women stare. Clara bursts into loud opera and surprises the young man so much he falls back on his ass.

The shoe shop is filled with Verdi’s The Fallen Woman and a powerful drinking song.

Cora needed a drink. Or ten.

 

On the way home Clara notices a gallery.

“Oh my. I would love to go in. Would you like that girls?”

“Are you sure cousin? It’s been a, Erm long day”.

“Oh yes dear. I love galleries. I have visited almost every gallery in the world”.

Cora didn’t have the heart to say no.Mulan was still giving Cora side glances as if to say ‘are you sick?’

As it turned out they viewed many paintings in peace, casually going from room to room. The portrait room was Clara’s favourite and held an extra interest as in her time travels she had met many of the posers and would give the women a little juicy gossip on each. Somehow the atmosphere was calming and the art of great interest.

Until they reached the last room that is.

 

A girl and her, presumably boyfriend were bickering a touch loud. He was bored out of his mind and wanted to leave, and insisted she leave with him, whereas she was enjoying her time here and didn’t care less if he left without her.

He then went on to mock her with exaggerated yawning in her face every time she stopped to look at a picture. She got pissed.

“You’ll stay like that if the wind changes”

 

Clara sneezed.

The wind changed.

 

He couldn’t close his mouth and was flapping about the gallery like a gaping fish.

His girlfriend burst into laughter, he was angry and tried to shout but gargled sounds came out his mouth which made her laugh even more.

They were beginning to draw a crowd.

Cora whispered

“It will pass”

Time to go.

 

Eugenia had dinner ready.

“You all had a good time then?”

Cora, Ruby and Mulan answered in unison

“Don’t ask”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. THE FULL MOONS PART FOUR CHAPTER SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past catches up with Clara.

THE FULL MOONS PART 4. Chapter 6

“ _Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   George Santayana._

 

Ruby and Mulan were excitable at breakfast, tonight was a full moon and they were meeting old pack friends in the forest. To run with the pack is an exhilarating emotion which is difficult to explain to humans. It also holds precious the relationship between the two girls. Every full moon is an anniversary. A time to rejoice their joining in love.

 

Ruby was trying her best to explain the sensation of being a werewolf to the very tiny observant Tarsier with its enormous unblinking eyes, which are to be said bigger than its brain, and a very furry body.

Tarsiers love to cling with their long arms and legs and in this case it was Granny’s arm. She didn’t mind so much except every time she lifted her fork to her mouth a long furry hand would snatch the food off.

“This funny looking excuse for a monkey has no manners”.

“Oh my. Erm sorry Eugenia dear”

Said the now human Clara sitting on granny’s lap.

Cora laughed loud and long.

“Erm, what is the moon called dear erm tonight, so sorry I do forget”

“The seventh moon Clara is the strawberry moon, so called after the start of the strawberry picking season, it has energy and a unique vibe”

Ruby gleamed at Mulan who blew a kiss back.

“It is also said it influence humans”.

“Erm How so Mulan dear” said Clara

“Their emotions and actions, it’s a time of change and new growth, not unlike spring cleaning, a good sort out, let the heaviness go, in every which way”

And Mulan looks at granny

“Oi!! I am always having a sort out and if you remember I redecorated...well sort of”.

She looks lovingly at Cora.

Granny is a continuous source of wonderful energy thought Cora.

———————————————————————————————

Granny had just shut shop for the day and was heading to the back to clear up when someone tapped on the door. She paused and let Cora open it.

“Ahhh Louis I presume”

“You were expecting me, madam?”

 

He was dressed in hose and breeches on the lower part with a padded shirt and attached sleeves, topped with a wide ruff around his neck. Over this, as a fashion statement for his time was a mandilion, a cloak dramatically draped over one shoulder.

Yet what really gave him away was the large mushroom shaped wart on his nose.

 

“Yes. Sooner or later Louis I was expecting you”

“You have me at a disadvantage madam. I have neither met or know of you”

“My name is Cora. I am cousin to the witch you know as Clara. I am also a witch, this is my partner Eugenia”.

He went to push past her. Granny nipped out into the back yard.

“Then it is time for extracting revenge, where is she?”

 

Cora told him to follow her and led him out out into the yard.Louis was confronted by three Werewolves,

One of which had hiccups.

“I am sure you recognise Werewolves Louis”

“Of course. They are abundant in France and vicious killers. We have to hunt them as they raid and murder the villagers”.

Granny was pissed at this for personal reasons and walked over to the Werewolves to stroke them and give little kisses on their heads, and in return getting her face licked.

Louis blanched.

 

“They have long since evolved Louis, unlike us humans. The packs prefer to live isolated far from towns and cities. Some individuals live with their families where they are loved.My nieces are not killers, but pay heed young man, they will protect their flesh and blood so tread carefully”.

Cora faced Louis

“I have no doubt that you could protect yourself warlock, or more so, kill maybe one werewolf, yet consider this. Are you quick enough against three Werewolves and a witch?You have a pretty wife I hear to return home to; it would be an awful shame for her to be a widow so young. Yet still a princess and the men will quickly flock and court...”

 

Silence.

A werewolf hiccupped.

“Then what do you propose madam?I have traveled far. I need compensation to save face”

Core smiled.

“Face being the integral word Louis.A small but long rewarding deal sir. I am a powerful witch that you can be sure of. Let me vanish the offending wart forever, I am sure your wife will be delighted. In return you leave here with no harm to my cousin.”

 

Two of the Werewolves padded around the yard they were restless; they needed to run, pawing at the back gate, growling. Granny soothed them.

Louis looked at the Werewolves his brow slightly glistening. He had not prepared to fight this night, nor lose his life.

“Agreed madam”.

Clara became human, and waved a small hello to Louis.

The girls ran out the back gate to meet pack friends. The night sky was clear and the moon beautiful. Granny smiled and shut the gate; she had put by plenty of meat for the morning.

 

Cora invited Louis to come into the diner and sit down. Granny served wine, she was used to this. Clara sat at the next table quite exhausted from being a werewolf and ravenous granny had already prepared her a burger.

Cora waved a finger over his nose and the wart shrunk than disappeared. The vanity of men never ceased to amaze her.

“It will not return Louis”

He touched his nose, smiled broadly and took a drink.

“Thank you madam”

He smiled at Clara and shrugged, as if to say ‘see it’s that easy for a witch’.

“Cora, why not come back with me we could make a powerful duo, live comfortably, keep the peasants in line”

“Thank you for your offer Louis but I am wanted here and I am happy”.

“Ahhh mores the shame”.

He finished his wine.

“Well I must say my goodbyes and am keen to surprise my wife”.

He stood and Cora saw him to the door.

“But still, what a shame madam, if we had met many years ago things could have been very different”

“I think not Louis. Take care and please try to work it out with the Werewolves”.

Granny nodded at this and waved as he walked out, over his shoulder he said with a wink

“I wish I were young again Cora...”

Granny and Cora mouthed a ‘NO’ at Clara. Too late.

 

A snotty nosed little boy pressed his face against the glass.

“It will pass Louis”.

His wife will certainly be surprised.

“Oh my, oh my”

Said Clara bursting into song.Alfredo Catalani’s opera La Wally, where the heroine throws herself into an avalanche.

 

Til the next time.

The End.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
